Part 2: Brewing up some ball smackers

The dawn of the Brewers infamous "Return to Relevance" season April, 2007. Anyone in baseball could clearly see the Brewers were about to embark on something special. As far as hitters went, the Brewers were stocked with young, promising, talent at almost every position. The outfield was manned by veteran left fielder and Brett Favre look-alike Geoff Jenkins. Bill Hall in center field was coming off a 35-homerun season, and Corey Hart in right field was finally starting to realize his (at the time) great potential. In the infield, Ryan Braun was about to be called up at third base, where he would go on to win Rookie of the Year honors. J.J. Hardy was finally healthy and ended up becoming an All-Star at shortstop. Rickie Weeks was poised to live up to his potential and become one of the best pure hitters in the game at second base. To top it off, first baseman Prince Fielder was ready to show the world what he could do, and almost showed up his father by hitting 50 home runs. The crazy thing was everyone, other than Jenkins and Hall, was younger than 25 years old and was nowhere near reaching their prime. The Brewers was about to establish themselves as a contender in the Central Division for years and years to come. So what the hell happened? Today, Fielder is a bonafide Most Valuable Player and left fielder Braun continues to perform at freakish levels, but the no longer young core of hitters that was touted to win Milwaukee a pennant is in shambles. Hardy is a shell of the player and man he once was. The often-smiling, fun-loving Hardy seemed to die with his game, as his confidence and demeanor is now comparable to LL Cool J's before he started using Old Spice Swagger. The increasingly inked and shriveled-looking Hart has continued his fall into obscurity, posting a disappointing .260 batting average, while nearing triple digits in strikeouts - all in fairly limited playing time. Hall had one of the worst and most miserable falls from glory you will ever see a professional athlete suffer. He was always a class act, on and off the field. Here's to wishing him nothing but the best in Seattle, or wherever baseball takes him. It looked like Weeks was finally starting to realize his limitless potential, until a batting practice injury ended what looked like a monster year. Whether Weeks can ever regain his pre-injury form is in doubt, and with his clock in Milwaukee almost done ticking, it's safe to say his best years will not be in a Brewers' uniform. This begs the question, how this once promising core fell apart? The problem was how this team was built, long before these players reached the majors. Throughout their respective careers, every player mentioned had striking similarities. All of them play shoddy defense (Hardy excluded), have above-average athleticism (for baseball players), have horrendous plate discipline, all but Fielder are right-handed and tear the cover off the ball. No variety. Every player seemingly had the same goal in every at bat; hit a home run or strikeout trying. This led individuals to sick hot streaks, only to be leveled by atrocious cold streaks. For years, the Brewers have lived and died by the home run, and that style of play led to a regression in basic hitting fundamentals, plate discipline and confidence. This crop of players just couldn't pull it off, and it's time to start over. Hardy and Hart need to be traded for (any) pitching help. Utility infielder Casey McGehee needs to play every single day. Center fielder Mike Cameron needs to be let go, and, for the right price, Fielder should be traded. The time has come to assemble the next crop of Brewers' hitters - and the farm league is loaded with prospects. The Brewers have in the minors right now at least 10 players who are legitimate major leaguers within the next two years. You will hear all these names by the end of 2011 (pending injury or trade). Shortstop Alcides Escobar, third baseman Mat Gamel have already seen the majors. They could be joined by second baseman Taylor Green or second baseman Brett Lawrie, catcher Jonathon Lucroy or catcher Angel Salome, center fielder Lorenzo Cain or center fielder Logan Schafer, right fielder Caleb Gindl and left fielder Kentrail Davis. Where the Brewers should find room for them and what will happen to their predecessors will be discussed next week in the final edition of our three part Brewers season wrap-up.